


Dreams to Reminisce on Roofless Time

by CycloneRachel



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Costumes, Family Feels, Family legacy, Fluff without Plot, Gen, Introspection, Light Angst, One Shot, Spoilers for 4x11, mentioned Isabel Nal, mentioned Maeve Nal, mentions of Kara and Brainy, short appearance by nia's roommate
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-29
Updated: 2019-01-29
Packaged: 2019-10-18 23:10:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,222
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17590172
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CycloneRachel/pseuds/CycloneRachel
Summary: Or, the one where Nia tries on her super-suit.





	Dreams to Reminisce on Roofless Time

She's familiar with what she sees, of course, when she opens the box.

It's no secret to her, or any of her family, that her mother is ( _was,_ she reminds herself, as the word weighs heavy on her heart) the Dreamer. Or just Dreamer, as those on Naltor called her, as she stopped crime with the use of her dreaming powers. There are pictures in Nia's house, of her mother in the super-suit, and Maeve has asked many times for her to _try it on again, just one more time, please?_

(She relented, eventually, but insisted she wasn't going to go back into the hero business again. That would be for one of her daughters, most likely, when they were older.)

(Maeve always looked especially hopeful, whenever she said that, drawing both of her daughters into a hug. And when she did, there was a small part of Nia who wanted to tell her: _it could be me, it could always be me. You don't know it'll be you._ )

Not that Nia had ever wanted the powers, she reflected as she would re-read Cat Grant's biography, taking notes on it while half-heartedly watching her sister paint. It wasn't a perspective she liked, but even she had to face the possibility that the powers would never come to her. She hadn't been sure how they worked, but surely they would seek out the person who was worthy of them, Mjolnir-style. They'd completely bypass her, and imbue her sister with their gifts, like she had wanted all along. She would wear this super-suit, and this mask, and protect Parthas- or even some other city- while Nia left in search of a reporting career. They'd send each other postcards, or letters, and everything would be fine. And more importantly, it would go according to plan.

Something that went out the window when Nia fell asleep on her desk, in her first week at Catco, and then again when she dreamt of someone with a baseball bat swinging towards a blue-skinned alien, and actually stopped it from happening not even an hour later.

Using the powers made her guilty, at first. She'd thought, at the beginning, that maybe not using them would make them go away, redirect them to the person who deserved them more- and then Kara gave her the "our powers are like muscles" line, which stung with the realization that she might be stuck with them forever, that she had no choice but to use them.

And using them was more than a little bit scary, she had to admit, remembering the dream that led to her rescuing Brainy, and the one that led her to team up with Kara and Brainy in the first place. But it also filled her with energy, the same way writing a good article did, and in those moments she sometimes, _sometimes_ , considered using them more.

But then she'd had to go home, and face Maeve, and those unfinished dreams fell as she imagined her sister's disapproving face, the anger and resentment on it as she watched her save people, thinking: _It should've been me. That should be me, out there._

Maeve wasn't in National City, she knew that, but she'd have to tell her someday, and she dreaded that. Hated the burden of the secret she carried, and dreaded finally letting it escape, how her sister would react.

And now that that was in the past, she knew it had been even worse than she'd feared. But it was gone, and she could let those fears go. She could be Dreamer now, finally, carrying the true blessing of her mother in her memories rather than the potential- and now real- jealousy of her sister.

But she wouldn't be jealous forever, as much as she'd believed that on the ride home, and as Kara reminded her, she still loved her sister. They would heal, some day, and she had to hold onto that hope too.

Just like she was hoping she would do the Dreamer name justice, and uphold that legacy just as well as Maeve could have.

She reaches for the Dreamer costume, then, after realizing she'll have to put her clothes on over it later.

(She wonders how Supergirl- how _Kara_ \- does it, changing in and out of her suit so quickly, and hopes she'll teach her that secret.) 

_Superhero lessons 101, The Art of the Quick-Change,_ she thinks, as she slowly puts her suit on, and looks forward to her first lesson. She can't learn it soon enough.

Nia's never seen the suit in full, she realizes as she adjusts it, and she's never thought about just how tight it could be. But once she has it on, noticing how it's slightly asymmetrical, how the different shades of blue complement each other and how shiny the white and silver parts are, she starts liking it more and more. She pulls on the boots first after the suit, then the gloves, and finally places the mask over her face, making sure it doesn't obscure her vision.

And as she poses in the mirror, first strutting towards it like a model before striking some fighting stances, acting like she's going to fly somewhere (she can't, but she indulges in that fantasy for a moment or two) before resuming the fighting poses.

The warehouse was really the only fight she's ever been in, but she has to imagine she'll be in more, and that Supergirl and Brainy will have to train her in that. She's still a little bit afraid of that, getting in more fights, but with preparation, she hopes she'll be every bit the hero she imagines her mom was.

(Her mother had white hair back then, too- on Earth, she decided to dye her hair platinum blonde before it returned to its natural shade as Nia got older. She can't imagine herself with white hair, but hers looks just as good against the costume, as she flips it over her shoulders and places her hands on her hips in front of the mirror.)

"My name is Nia Nal." she says, in her best imitation of Supergirl's voice. "Wait." she says then, returning to her normal voice. "No, no, I can't say that."

"I'm Dreamer." she starts over, still in her power pose. "I'm here to save you!"

She'll have to work on a catchphrase, and some quips (is she going to be the type of hero who uses puns? She hasn't decided yet), but right now, she falls back on her bed, dissolving into a fit of giggles as she stares at the ceiling, the box sitting beside her.

"I'm a superhero." she says, out loud, after calming down. "I'm a hero. I'm Dreamer."

It sounds more real each time she says it, and by the time her roommate comes in, knocking on her door, there's a big smile on her face.

She's used to the costume now, she thinks as she gets off of the bed and looks at her image in the mirror one more time. And as reluctant as she was, at first, she has to admit that now, it fits like a dream.

That thought makes her laugh again, and-

"Nia? You okay in there?"

"Yeah!" she shouts back, before opening the door. 

"Actually... I want to show you something."


End file.
